It's important, when you're reading and you get a feeling to stop and think: What made me feel like that? It can be very enlightening! Go back over the precise words that set you off. There may be an interesting discrepancy between those words and your feelings. Pay attention to your own mind. Confront the ways in which other people's minds are genuinely different from yours.

To some extent, it's good to imagine that another person's thoughts resemble yours. Emily Mills wants the liberal side to win, so when she's reading something I wrote that doesn't help, she presumes I'm on the other side. She knows how she embodies her thoughts cagily into words, and she imagines that I'm doing the same kind of thing. But other people deserve to be recognized as separate and different. One of the reasons to read is to get the feeling of how another person thinks. Don't close yourself off to that. You'll be a better reader, and, I would argue, a better person, because you will be accepting and confronting the author's humanity and individuality.

quote:

ORIGINAL: FirmhandKY

I think these couple of paragraphs are interesting and may even be helpful, especially if you are interested in attempting to be self-aware, and to be able to detect your own biases, as well as others.

The exact context (read: political tiff) from which they arise is immaterial to the point, and I'm not interested in even discussing it, but the philosophical point made is the meat of the matter.

Critical Reading

It's important, when you're reading and you get a feeling to stop and think: What made me feel like that? It can be very enlightening! Go back over the precise words that set you off. There may be an interesting discrepancy between those words and your feelings. Pay attention to your own mind. Confront the ways in which other people's minds are genuinely different from yours.

To some extent, it's good to imagine that another person's thoughts resemble yours. Emily Mills wants the liberal side to win, so when she's reading something I wrote that doesn't help, she presumes I'm on the other side. She knows how she embodies her thoughts cagily into words, and she imagines that I'm doing the same kind of thing. But other people deserve to be recognized as separate and different. One of the reasons to read is to get the feeling of how another person thinks. Don't close yourself off to that. You'll be a better reader, and, I would argue, a better person, because you will be accepting and confronting the author's humanity and individuality.

Firm

quote:

ORIGINAL: kat321

The point of critical reading (which is a specific field of study, not a vernacular term as it is used in the title given) is to recognize purpose, recognize persuasive elements in the text and recognize author bias.  Making these inferences is inherent to the task.

quote:

ORIGINAL: kat321

The point of critical reading (which is a specific field of study, not a vernacular term as it is used in the title given) is to recognize purpose, recognize persuasive elements in the text and recognize author bias.  Making these inferences is inherent to the task.

Professor Althouse seems to say that the respondent to her blog is not critically reading BECAUSE she may recognize persuasive elements and/or bias in Althouse's (personal) writing and then pens her responses accordingly. 

I can understand not wanting others to detect bias in your work and then basing their responses on it, but to deny that it is a possibility and then attack the respondent as projecting his or her worldview on your writing is both academically disingenuous and hypocritical.

quote:

ORIGINAL: FirmhandKY

quote:

ORIGINAL: kat321

The point of critical reading (which is a specific field of study, not a vernacular term as it is used in the title given) is to recognize purpose, recognize persuasive elements in the text and recognize author bias.  Making these inferences is inherent to the task.

Professor Althouse seems to say that the respondent to her blog is not critically reading BECAUSE she may recognize persuasive elements and/or bias in Althouse's (personal) writing and then pens her responses accordingly. 

I can understand not wanting others to detect bias in your work and then basing their responses on it, but to deny that it is a possibility and then attack the respondent as projecting his or her worldview on your writing is both academically disingenuous and hypocritical.

Massive fail.

quote:

It's important, when you're reading and you get a feeling to stop and think: What made me feel like that? It can be very enlightening! Go back over the precise words that set you off.

quote:

Every article I read, I ask:

Where is the author trying to steer me?

Why?

How?

quote:

ORIGINAL: SternSkipper

quote:

Every article I read, I ask:

Where is the author trying to steer me?

Why?

How?

If you are such a suave internet savant, how come you display a picture of a giant cock as your avatar?

quote:

ORIGINAL: SternSkipper

quote:

It's important, when you're reading and you get a feeling to stop and think: What made me feel like that? It can be very enlightening! Go back over the precise words that set you off.

Hahahahahahaha.... yeah, that was I guess the technique you were using a while back when you responded to facts being brought forward (however colorfully)  with a rant that included hitler and the antichrist?

quote:

ORIGINAL: LafayetteLady

Great example of "critical reading." That is, of course, unless you thought your own post was a bunch of bullshit and you were just sharing it.